photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State defensive back Ethan Prescott celebrates a second quarter Interception against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

A string of 17 unanswered points was all the Free State Firebirds needed to climb out of an early hole and prevent visiting Olathe East from spoiling their home opener on Friday.

The Firebirds’ hot stretch midway through the game was enough to give them a 17-12 win and keep their record for this season an unblemished 3-0. But at the start of the game, it was a question of which team would get into the groove first.

For a little bit, it looked like that would be the Hawks.

Both the Firebirds and the Hawks went three-and-out on their opening drives. But a bad snap for the Firebirds set the Hawks up well for their second drive, with a first and 10 coming up at the Free State 30-yard line.

The Hawks punched it in several plays later on a 5-yard run from Daylan Mburu, giving the visitors an early 7-0 lead with 7:56 left in the opening quarter.

“They’re the best team we’ve played all year so far,” FSHS coach Kevin Stewart said of the Hawks. “I thought our guys did a good job of staying calm and keeping their composure for the most part.”

On its next drive, Free State was ready to fight back. Quarterback Wesley Edison made several nice passes to get the Firebirds all the way inside the Olathe East 10-yard line, and Yusef Iskandrani drilled a 26-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

For the rest of the first quarter, the defenses ruled the day and the teams traded punts. Two second-quarter interceptions courtesy of Ethan Prescott and Tyler Jeffries looked like some added momentum for the Firebirds toward the end of the first half, but they weren’t able to capitalize. After Jeffries’ takeaway, a pass from Edison to Bralin Preston was just incomplete in the back of the endzone, and the score was still 7-3 at halftime.

But at the start of the second half, the Firebirds made a statement, marching right down the field with a 79-yard drive that was capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run from Grant Lincoln. This put Free State ahead for the first time at 10-7 around the midway point of the third quarter.

After scoreless attempts from both sides at the end of the third quarter, the Free State defense got a key stop and Johnnie Williams had the biggest play of the night at the start of the fourth quarter — a 95-yard punt return touchdown.

After breaking several tackles deep in FSHS’ own territory, the senior defensive back found a hole close to the Free State sideline and took it all the way home for the score, padding his team’s lead to 10 points with only a quarter to go.

“It just so happened Johnnie was in this corner and the wall set up for him perfectly,” Stewart said. “Everyone executed their blocks, and he just took it all the way down the sideline with a couple of great moves. He’s going to have that highlight for the rest of his life.”

The Hawks had to punt again on their next drive, but then Benjamin Burton got a key takeaway for them, which set them up in great field position on their next drive. Suddenly, O-East had a first and 10 inside the Free State 40-yard line, and it converted with a 37-yard field goal off the foot of Cameron Speier, making it a one-possession game.

On their next drive, the Firebirds fumbled the ball, handing it right back to the Hawks’ offense on the plus side of the field. The Hawks chose to lean on their ground game this time, eating up five minutes of clock and forcing a decisive fourth and goal at the FS 4-yard line.

But on the final defensive play, the Firebirds held up one final time. Hyrum Vaeono made the game-saving tackle at the 2-yard line, and the home team escaped with the narrow win.

“That’s just a really big win,” Stewart said. “We have to get better to be a great team. Next week will be another challenge that’s for sure.”

Free State took a safety on the final play of the game, which set the final margin at 17-12

Up next, Free State will face Shawnee Mission Northwest at 7 p.m. next Friday at home.

GAME STATS

Free State 17, Olathe East 12

FS | OE

First downs 8 | 9

Rushes-yards 28-68 | 30-76

Passing yards 96 | 102

Total offense 164 | 178

Fumbles-lost 1-1 | 0-0

Interceptions 1 | 2

Penalties-yards 5-47 | 8-75

Score by quarters

Olathe East 7 0 0 3 – 10

Free State 3 0 7 7 – 17

HOW THEY SCORED

1st Quarter:

07:56 – Daylan Mburu 5 yard run. Cameron Speier kick good. (OE 7 FS 0)

02:09 – Yusef Iskandrani 26 yard field goal good. (OE 7 FS 3)

3rd Quarter:

07:03 – Grant Lincoln 13 yard run. Iskandrani kick good. (FS 10 OE 7)

4th Quarter:

11:37 – Johnnie Williams 95 yard punt return touchdown. Iskandrani kick good. (FS 17 OE 7)

06:01 – Cameron Speier 37 yard field goal. (FS 17 OE 10)

00:00 – Safety, Wesley Edison rush. (FS 17 OE 12)

Individual statistics

Rushing:

FS: Wesley Edison 15-7; Ryan Weishaar 3-5; Grant Lincoln 10-56;

OE: Jalen Proctor 15-40; Daylan Mburu 6-17; Jaden Brown 2-9; Norian Terrill 1-7; Jack Cornell 3 -(-15); Adam Walters 1-9; Gerard Reed III 1-7; Ray Smith III 1-2

Passing

FS: Wesley Edison 11-21-96

OE: Jack Cornell 12-20-102

Receiving

FS: Bralin Preston 1-5; Devon Hamilton 3-6; Liam Stramberg 1-13; Landon Leipold 3-32; Grant Lincoln 2-27; Ryan Weishaar 1-13

OE: Gerard Reed III 1-4; Norian Terril 5-56; Carter Gooding 3-40; Daylan Mburu 2-(-1); Adam Walters 1-3

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Lawrence Free State linebacker Crow Bengoa tackles the the running back behind the line of scrimmage in a game against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday Sept. 15th, 2023

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State wide receiver Bralin Preston catches a first quarter screen pass against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15th, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State quarterback Wesley Edison rolls out of the pocket against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15th, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State running back Grant Lincoln takes the hand-off against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15th, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State quarterback Wesley Edison looks for an open receiver against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15th, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World Photo

Free State wide Receiver and defensive back Devon Hamilton celebrates a fourth-down stop with no time remaining against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15th, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State running back Grant Lincoln carries the ball during the game against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Free State wide Receiver and defensive back Devon Hamilton celebrates a fourth-down stop with no time remaining against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15th, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Johnnie Williams runs down the sideline for Free State during the Firebirds’ game against Olathe East in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

This story has been updated to reflect that the final play of the game was ruled a safety.